


Return to Innocence

by Urby



Series: Melodies of Life [20]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-15 16:35:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19299559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Urby/pseuds/Urby
Summary: Kana transforms into a dragon and is unable to speak or transform back for a time. Fortunately, she has a patient family...





	Return to Innocence

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting in my drafts for a while. I hope you can still enjoy it even though there's some context missing.
> 
> This will be a multi-parter.

It was snacktime, and while Corrin knew that sometimes children could get overly distracted by whatever they were absorbed in, he found it unusual that Kana had not shown up. Normally, she was eager to display the results of her play, whether it was a bunch of freshly-picked leaves or a skinned knee that needed a kiss or a small animal that she'd found. Today, however, she hadn't responded to the call for tea and snacks. Shigure had come promptly, of course, making sure to greet and kiss his father before squirreling away his food away to his drawing corner.

Perhaps she was still outside? There was a possibility that Kana had wandered around the halls and found a way out onto the grounds, since there was much in the fort that she did not know. Corrin paced the halls, peering out windows as he went. Still no sign. He could involve some of the servants in his search, he was aware, but his pride as a father sought to find his little girl without help.

The day was too sunny and picturesque for him to keep his search indoors, so he wandered outside, making his way to the gardens. There was a little plot that Kana had claimed for herself, one she loved to visit every day so she could investigate what nature had been up to while she was away.

What Corrin found there made him freeze. Instead of his daughter, there was a small dragon in the garden, throwing her head about as she kicked their legs, tearing up the soil. He knew the shape of that dragon, having seen it when he chanced a look at his transformed reflection. This one was much smaller, though, with hand-hooves that were out of proportion with the rest of her body, and no antlers yet.

He swallowed. He had figured this might happen, even though Shigure never seemed to display much of his draconic heritage. "Kana!" he called out.

The little dragon reared and stomped her front legs back down in a gesture full of young fury. Corrin stepped forward, and the dragon stomped again. Another step, and the dragon spooked behind a bush this time.

"Kana," he said, more gently than before. He approached more slowly. The dragon tried to roar at him, but the only sound her little body was able to make was a pitchy _aaaar!_

Something tugged at his mind. What if...no, he wanted to try something else first. He knelt on the dirt, so that he was smaller than before, and spoke softly. "It's alright, Kana, you're not in trouble. Come here."

The dragon's tail twitched.

He waited. When the little dragon remained in her hiding place, he sighed, rose, and took a deep breath. He looked to the sky and held his dragonstone...and then there were two dragons. The smaller one approached warily, wings spread. She did not quite trust him yet.

It would only be for a while, but Corrin allowed his human mind to sleep. He roared, not one that was a battle cry, but one that was a challenge of play. The little dragon before him responded with a bright smile and dashed away. She was easy to catch in his false jaw, and she squeaked with joy when he tossed her in the air.

_Little one. Little one. My little one._

* * *

Azura had not seen Corrin since morning, and that was worrying. These days, it was rare that they would spend much time together while still awake and about, and today was supposed to be a happy exception.

"Papa went out to go look for Kana," Shigure said. "He hadn't had anything to eat yet."

"And you haven't seen him since?"

"No."

"Thank you for letting me know, Shigure," Azura said, kissing the top of his head. "We'll just have to have lunch together some other time. Maybe your picture might be done then and you can show us."

He fidgeted. "I don't know," he said. He was starting to get more and more critical and secretive of the drawings he made, which saddened her somewhat. She knew what it was like growing up with a creative bent.

She meandered her husband's usual haunts while also looking around her daughter's favorite hideouts. Near the kitchen? No. The offices? Not a hair. Perhaps the garden...it was such a nice day, after all; it was impossible for them to resist getting dirty or muddy exploring.

Azura stopped when she came up the hill leading to Kana's garden. Corrin was a dragon. Panic seized her - it was broad daylight, they weren't anywhere near someplace she could calm him, they'd have to go through some of the busiest parts of the castle to get somewhere safe - but he seemed peaceful. He walked with slow, controlled steps, and his false jaw parted in a light smile when he noticed her. She padded to him carefully.

"Corrin!" she said, reaching hands up to him. He lowered his head, stopping so she could cup his face. "What happened?"

 _Everything is alright,_ he said. She let out a sigh of relief - at least he had words. That was a good sign. _I have Kana with me._

Azura blinked. Normally, Kana would have piped up by now, cheering from her father's back...but there was no eager child waving from behind the dragon's head or weaving between his legs.

Corrin lowered himself down, folding his limbs underneath his body. Then, he spread his wings against the ground. A squeak, like a small air-filled toy being squished, came from his back.

"Was that...?" Azura asked, walking around to see what was making the noise. The squeak happened again, and there was movement, as well. "Oh!"

There was a second, much smaller dragon on Corrin's back, curled up as if resting. The little dragon lifted her head when Azura came into view. _Neh!_ the little dragon cried, her false jaw parting as she did so.

The sound was _adorable_. The little dragon was adorable. "Oh, there you are, Kana!" Azura said, reaching for her.

 _Neh! Nehhh!_ Kana flailed, sliding off of Corrin's back. Azura caught her before she stumbled to the ground, wincing at the uncoordinated claws that scraped her skin.

"Mama's got you. There, there..." Azura knelt so that all four of Kana's feet touched down. Kana nuzzled her mother's face, tail twitching with delight. A steady flow of draconic syllables and purrs streamed out of her once Azura started stroking her head.

 _Shh, Kana. Shhh,_ Corrin murmured, nuzzling the excited dragonlet.

"What happened?" Azura asked, looking up at her husband.

Corrin's ears undulated as he tipped his head. _I found her in the garden like this, about to have a...a tantrum. You know,_ he looked aside for a moment. _She wasn't able to understand me at first, and she wouldn't trust me until I let myself be a dragon. We played together for...maybe an hour or two. She's calm now._

Kana bounced in place, dragon-grinning. Her _neh_ was much louder than before.

Azura smiled and patted Kana's shoulders. They were so small and frail under her hands...she didn't think it would take much to make the little dragon's limbs buckle from underneath her. "Shh, Kana. Do you know why she became a dragon?"

_I'm not sure. The garden was already torn up when I got there._

Kana began chattering again, stretching her wings out.

"I see. Kana..." Azura paused, listening to the chattering her daughter was making. It sounded somewhat metallic and echoey, not unlike what she heard from her husband when he spoke to her as a dragon. Still, it was clearly animal noise. "Kana, please, I can't understand you."

Kana's ears drooped. Her false-jaw hung open in shock.

 _Try thinking your words,_ Corrin offered.

Kana was silent for a while. Then, she stomped her hand-hooves, _neh_ ing in frustration. Azura looked up at Corrin. "You can't understand her either?"

Corrin shook his head.

"Mama and Papa will help you get back to normal, but you'll need to calm down, first," Azura said. "You might hurt someone if you're not careful."

Kana paused in apparent thought. She looked back and forth at her parents. Then, she sat down on her hind legs quietly.

 _If you're upset, come find me_ , Corrin said. _It's not good for a dragon to be upset._

Kana looked up at him and scootched over so that she sat on his paws. Corrin rumbled and curled around her, giving the top of her head a nuzzle, and Azura knelt to let her daughter lean against her.


End file.
